This invention relates to kitty litter boxes, and more particularly to an improved, collapsible litter box which is relatively simple and inexpensive to manufacture, ship and store, and which isolates cat feces from human contact.
There are a variety of U.S. patents covering different designs of disposable, sanitary toilets or kitty litter boxes which are utilized by cats. Reference is made, for example to U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,154,052, 3,581,975, 3,743,170, 4,553,671, 4,501,226, 4,527,511, 4,522,150 and 4,541,360. Most such boxes are designed to contain a quantity of particulate absorbent material, commonly referred to as kitty litter. In use a cat habitually goes to the box and performs its toilet in the litter. In many instances the litter is replaced after it has become used, but more often than not the boxes are designed to be disposed of after being used.
The above-noted U.S. Pat. No. 3,154,052, for example, discloses a rectangularly shaped, disposable box containing a supply of particulate absorbent material (initially packaged within the box), and disposed to be discarded or thrown away when the oft-used absorbent material no longer appears to be effective. Variations of this rectangular box are disclosed by the above-noted U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,581,975, 3,743,170 and 4,541,360.
The boxes disclosed by U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,553,671 and 4,501,226 are generally rectangular in configuration, but include inclined sidewalls. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,527,511 discloses a combination pet bath and litter box, and is extremely complicated in design. The U.S. Pat. No. 4,522,150 discloses a disposable litter box having a rounded top and a drawer-like bottom, which contains the litter, and which is removable from the upper part of the box or housing.
While the above-noted litter boxes are in many cases disposable, they all have the disadvantage that they are rather cumbersome to ship and store, and for that matter also take up a rather substantial quantity of room when they are discarded. Cat feces, in particular, carry protozoan parasites, should they come into contact with a human, they could lead to toxoplasmosis disease, and consequent brain and spinal cord inflamation. It is believed also that this could result in birth defects in unborn children, when a pregnant woman is exposed to such feces. Obviously, therefore, it is extremely important that, once a cat litter material has been used, it should be isolated from any contact with humans.
It is an object of this invention, therefore, to provide an improved, sanitary toilet or station for pet animals, including means for preventing absorbent litter material from coming into contact with humans after the station has been used.
A more specific object of this invention is to provide an improved, collapsible, kitty litter box which is extremely easy to store and to utilize, and which can be readily disposed of in a collapsed mode in which it occupies a very small space.
Still a more specific object of this invention is to provide a collapsible, corrugated-type kitty litter box which is extremely simple to manipulate and dispose of, when no longer in use.
Other objects of the invention will be apparent hereinafter from the specification and from the recital of the appended claims, particularly when read in conjunction with the accompanying drawings.